Promised Land

Fracking, the controversial process to used to release
natural gas for collection, drives the narrative of the new Gus Van Sant
film, written by co-stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski, but the issue,
which widens the already cavernous divide between Democrats and
Republicans, never truly takes center stage.

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Instead, what Van Sant and
his affable screenwriting stars produce here is a film that harkens back
to older American cinema and heartland values. Promised Land is
about a fast-track corporate gainer (played by Damon) who rediscovers
his not-quite-lost soul back in the communal homestead of his youth. The
movie works on this level because audiences will be hard-pressed to
ignore the all-American charms of Damon, who really, at this moment, the
closest thing we have to a real life Captain America. Now in theaters. (R) Grade: B